Rand Paul says GOP health care bill unlikely to pass in Congress

House Republicans plan to set up a "spin room" for lawmakers to talk to media outlets about the GOP's plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare before an expected close vote on the legislation Thursday. And I look forward to working with him so we can get this bill passed, in some form, so that we can pass massive tax reform, which we can't do until this happens.

Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican who serves as majority whip, sent out a message late Sunday to encourage House Republicans to support the repeal of the law popularly called Obamacare. Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky are also opposed to the plan that would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The current GOP bill, which could still be changed to try to gain support from conservatives, would cause 24 million Americans to lose their current insurance coverage by 2026, thanks to a shrinking of subsidies provided to help people buy coverage and a rollback of the Medicaid program for the poor.

Trump has tried to bring holdouts on board, and while it's not clear how successful he's been he has adopted a posture of public confidence. "I believe that the real negotiation begins when we stop them".

Ryan has said he's counting on Trump to be the "great closer" for his legislation, and the president is planning to visit Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to address House Republicans in person, according to two Republican aides.

Trump won the support of several conservative House members on Friday when he agreed to make changes to the Medicaid portion of the bill, including giving states the option of instituting a work requirement on childless, able-bodied adults who receive the benefit.

At the rally, Trump suggested he wasn't wedded to the current version of bill.

Texas GOP Rep. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said some of the changes will be "technical" and "policy" related and will "further strengthen the bill".

"That money will be taken from red areas, and numerous people who will be advantaged by the money going to the high end will be in blue areas", the California lawmaker said on Face the Nation.

President Donald Trump's healthcare plan has key differences from the Affordable Care Act - which it will replace - but many similarities as well. Most of the growth was the result of an increase in federal spending, which rose by 16.0 percent and is a direct result of Medicaid expansion under Obamacare.

The governors - including Ohio's John Kasich, Michigan's Rick Snyder, Nevada's Brian Sandoval and Arkansas' Asa Hutchinson - all head states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.